


Coming Out

by delicatelyglitterywriter



Series: Autism "Coming Out" Fics [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Autism, Autism Acceptance, Fitzsimmons Fluffverse, Gen, fsfv
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 00:23:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14484576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicatelyglitterywriter/pseuds/delicatelyglitterywriter
Summary: Their children have questions about how to come out, how to accept someone who's come out, what it's like to come out, and just generally the experience of coming out.





	1. Superhero

**Author's Note:**

> **Content warnings:** references to bits of previous works in this series, so yeah content warnings from those stories I guess?
> 
> This is more just a reflection piece to finish off the month, than an actual story about coming out as autistic. I hope you enjoy :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy and Fitz discuss his autism and his experience coming out to May

“Hey, dad, why don’t you  like certain foods?”

“It’s because I have what’s called sensory processing disorder,” Fitz answers, putting a sandwich down in front of his daughter, Peggy.

“Oh. What does that mean?”

“It means I process sensory information differently from you. So there are some tastes, textures, sounds, and so on that I can’t handle.”

“Okay.” Peggy bites into her sandwich. “B’why?”

“Don’t talk with your mouthful, monkey,” he scolds. “But to answer your question, the sensory processing disorder, or SPD, is part of my autism. Remember how we discussed autism?”

Peggy nods, swallowing her food. “That’s where your brain works differently.”

Fitz smiles and nods. “SPD is part of the way my brain works differently.”

“Oh. Okay.” Peggy eats some more of her sandwich, thinking. “Have you ever had to tell anyone who wasn’t mum?”

“I’ve never had to tell anyone if I don’t want to,” Fitz explains. “Because it’s my choice deciding who I want to know. I don’t have to tell anyone. But, yes, I have told people who aren’t your mother.”

“Okay. Who?”

“My mum, Daisy, and May,” Fitz lists off. “So, not many.”

Peggy’s interest piques at May’s name. “How did she react?”

“She was wonderful about it,” Fitz says, smiling fondly at the memory. “It was after a lunch that was a nightmare for my SPD. She saved me through managing to talk people into, and out of, doing and saying certain things. I told her because I wanted to say thank you, and because I thought I’d like her to know. She was perfectly okay with it.”

“Nana’s always okay with it,” Peggy sighs happily. “And I really like that she’s always a superhero, no matter how small the situation.”

Fitz smiles, running a hand over her head.

“Me too, monkey. Me too.”


	2. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Esperanza's friend comes out to her, and she turns to her mother for guidance

Elena enters the living room to find her daughter sitting on the couch, deep in thought. Her laptop is open on the table, a school project open and abandoned. Whatever’s plaguing her mind must really have captivated her; Elena’s never known Esperanza to become so distracted from schoolwork.

“Esperanza?”

Elena voice seems to cut through Esperanza’s trance, as she startles, nearly falling off the couch.

“Oh, hi, ma.”

“Hello to you, too. What are you thinking about so deeply you’re not doing schoolwork?”

Esperanza averts her gaze, fidgeting with a loose thread on a pillow. “Nothing.”

“If it takes you that long to say nothing , then it’s evidently something.”

Esperanza sighs in defeat. 

“Remember my friend, Yvonne?” Elena nods. “She came out to me as pansexual today.”

Oh. That would make sense. It’s hard to focus if she’s thinking about something as big as that. Elena sits down next to her.

“What are your thoughts?”

“I don’t know,” Esperanza sighs, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. “I want to accept her, but this is just...I don’t know. It just feels kind of weird.”

Elena rubs her back comfortingly. “I know, Za. But trust me, it’s much scarier for her than you.”

Esperanza seems to pick up on the hint quite quickly, as she almost immediately turns her head to face Elena.

“Have you ever come out to someone before?”

Elena nods. “When I was in college, I came out to my mother as autistic.”

Esperanza’s jaw drops. “Seriously?”

Elena just smiles at her. Esperanza shakes her head.

“I should not have asked that. Now I have two things to comprehend. Ugh, why me?”

Elena chuckles. “You’ll get used to it. But, really, don’t feel too bad. You’re seeing Yvonne in a whole new light; that will take time to adjust. Just be there for her. The worst thing you can do is...uh, what’s the word? The one where you don’t accept her and tell her she’s wrong.”

“Invalidate?”

“ _ Si _ ! That’s the one. The worst thing you can do is invalidate her. That’s the thing that hurts the most, I think.”

“Did  _ abuela _ invalidate you when you told her?”

Elena nods. “It hurt, a lot. And it took me many weeks to recover from it. Don’t make the same mistake with Yvonne.” 

Esperanza nods. “I’ll try.” 

Elena smiles at her. “And I will be right here to help you.”

“ _ Gracias _ , ma.”

“ _ De nada _ .”


	3. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy-Mel asks Bobbi a lot of questions about autism and coming out.

“Mom, what’s autism?”

Bobbi looks up from chopping the vegetables for dinner, to see the older of her two daughters, Daisy-Mel, sitting at the bench. 

“It’s a neurological differentiation that affects nearly 2% of the population by the most recent estimate,” she recites, resuming the preparation of dinner. “Why do you ask?”

“I heard Aunty Jemma use the word, about Bucky, and I wanna know what it means.”

“I see. Was my explanation not enough?”

“No. I still don’t get it.”

Bobbi dumps the vegetables in the pot and moves onto the meat.

“Well, autism is a word used to describe people with different brains. Autistic people process information differently than other people. For example, they may have trouble with lots of noise and lights, or they may not like certain touches, or they may think what you say is literal, which means they interpret your words in the actual form. Like...the phrase sick as a dog. An autistic person may think you’re actually calling them a dog and get confused. Does that make sense?”

Daisy-Mel nods, snitching one of the carrot pieces. Bobbi swats her hand.

“Can an autistic person use the phrase ‘coming out’, or is that just for gay people?”

“Now where did  _ that _ question come from?”

Daisy-Mel shrugs. “Aunty Daisy used it when talking about her ADHD. But she used quotation marks, so…”

Bobbi sighs. Her daughter hears way too much from her extended family. She’ll have to have a conversation with them about controlling what they say around her, before she finds out about swear words. 

“Technically speaking, yes. Personally, I’m a bit hesitant to use it, since it’s historically an LGBT term, which I am not, but yes, I do think neurodiverse people can use it if they want to.”

“Okay.” There are a few beats where Bobbi finishes cutting the meat, and turns to cook it, when Daisy-Mel speaks again. “What’s it like coming out?”

Bobbi’s heart skips a beat, but she recovers quickly, and she dumps the meat into the pot. “So full of questions today.”

“What can I say? I’m a curious child.”

Bobbi can’t help but smile. She got her quick wit from her father. She motions for Daisy-Mel to come into the kitchen so she can answer the question while she cooks. When her daughter appears in her peripheral vision, she speaks.

“It’s pretty scary. It’s kind of like telling your friend a really deep secret, that you want them to keep. Except with coming out, it’s more you want them to be okay with this part of you, and not reject you, or tell you that you’re wrong.”

“Oh.” There’s another short pause before, “Have you ever come out to anyone?”

“Yes,” Bobbi says shortly, leaving it at that. Her daughter doesn’t need to know every detail of her life.

“As what? And to who?”

“Whom,” Bobbi corrects. “As for what, that part is none of your business. But as for the ‘who’, I came out to your father. He was suspicious of my secret, and so he asked a few vague questions to see if he was right, but in the end, I made him ask me directly. It was fun watching him squirm.”

Daisy-Mel giggles. “That sounds funny.”

Bobbi grins, glancing down at her. “It was. Now, don’t you have some homework you ought to be doing?”

Daisy-Mel pouts, but retreats grumpily from the kitchen at Bobbi’s raised eyebrows. She reappears a second later.

“One more question.”

“ _ One _ more.”

“How old do you have to be to come out?”

“No age limit. If you know something about yourself, you’re free to tell people whenever. Now, homework.”

“How old were you-”

“ _ Home _ work,” Bobbi cuts in, pointing a finger towards the living room. “You can ask more questions after dinner.”

“Fine,” Daisy-Mel whines, stomping from the kitchen. Once gone, Bobbi smiles to herself. Daisy-Mel may have gotten wit from Hunter, but the curiosity was definitely from her side. 


	4. Always Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jemma comforts Bucky after he's rejected after coming out as autistic

“Mum?”

Jemma turns towards where her son’s voice came from. He’s standing there, blank look on his face. His shoulders are slumped in exhaustion, and he’s staring at her shirt. It’s green - his favourite colour.

“Bucky, is everything okay?”

Bucky shakes his head, no.

“I told Matt about my autism today.”

“I take it he didn’t take it well?”

Bucky again shakes his head. 

“Can you show me how you feel?” Jemma asks, pointing to the emotions chart hanging on the wall. 

Together, they go over and Bucky considered how he was feeling, before pointing to the sad face and the angry face. Jemma nods, offering him a hug, which Bucky accepts. They stay like this for a while, before Bucky pulls away and runs to the couches, squishing himself between. He likes the pressure. Jemma follows, and sits on the left couch, waiting for him to speak. She refrains the urge to touch him. That’s the last thing he needs right now.

“Is it always hard to tell people?”

“Sometimes,” Jemma answers honestly. “Sometimes, people are okay, and even happy with the information, just like Mackenzie was. Do you remember that?”

“Yeah. Mackenzie’s nice. I like that she was okay with it.”

“Me too. It’s always nice when people are okay with it. But, sometimes, people don’t like hearing that their friends and family are different, and everyone gets upset. I want to tell you that it gets easier, but I can’t lie to you, Bucky.”

“I hate people not liking my autism,” Bucky grumbles. 

“Me neither. It hurts, a lot.”

Bucky’s head pops up. “Have you ever told anyone about something that’s different about you?”

Jemma nods, smiling softly. “I’m autistic, just like you. When I told me own mother, she said some very nasty things, and it wasn’t very nice.”

“What’d she say?” Bucky asks, tilting his head. Jemma shakes her head.

“I don’t want to repeat it to you. It’s too upsetting. But I was lucky; my father was okay with it, and he comforted me.”

She doesn’t even realise Bucky has climbed onto the couch, until she feels a weight pressing into her side. She looks down, sees Bucky, smiles, and wraps an arm around him.He looks up at her with happy eyes.

“I’ll always be okay with your autism, mummy.”

Jemma’s heart completely melts. “I’ll always be okay with your, too, Bucky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who followed along with this series this month. It means a lot to me :)
> 
> (Also I slapped this last story together in like half an hour pls don't judge too harshly)


End file.
